EDC and our clients, Sierra Club Los Padres Chapter and Environmental Coalition of Ventura County, celebrated a victory in December 2018 when NRG withdrew its application for the proposed Puente Power Project Plant in Oxnard. The withdrawal came after three years of hard work by EDC and our allies, and a year after the California Energy Commission’s Committee assigned to the case proclaimed its intent to deny the application. The proposed denial was based in large part on evidence submitted by EDC regarding the project’s harmful impacts to the surrounding environment.

This blog by EDC’s Environmental Analyst and Watershed Program Coordinator, Brian Trautwein, tells the story of the Endangered Southern California Steelhead, the plight of a pair of steelhead discovered in a local creek in 2017, and current efforts by EDC and partners to bring this species back from the brink of extinction.

Right now EDC is fighting against one of the most dangerous and polluting oil projects in our entire region: the Phillips 66 Rail Spur Project which, if approved, will send thousands of explosive oil trains right through our South Coast and Central Coast communities. The San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission will decide whether to approve or deny the Project on February 4-5 in SLO.

Rising majestically above Santa Barbara, Goleta and Montecito, the Santa Ynez Mountains form the scenic evergreen backdrop that frames the stunning natural beauty and enriches the quality of life in our communities. But this amazing environment is threatened. The deep-rooted chaparral woodlands that hold our mountainsides together during rainstorms are being clear-cut at an alarming and increasing rate, without regard for the wildlife or rare plants that live there.

Goleta Beach is in the news again – there are moments when this feels almost as cyclical as the high tides crashing into a rock seawall. After all, EDC has been talking about one seawall project or another since 2000. Well, the Coastal Commission is scheduled to hear this one more time on Wednesday, May 13th and this is the big one.